Even Jay Wright didn’t see Jalen Brunson going Kobe Bryant in 2026 NBA Finals appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In the latest edition of The Rich Eisen Show, former Villanova University head coach Jay Wright spoke about Jalen Brunson’s NBA success. Wright coached Brunson when Villanova won the national championship in 2018.
In the interview, Wright gave a breakdown of his thoughts on Brunson post-draft and his time in Dallas.
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“Honestly, Rich, I thought that situation in Dallas, with him being the leader of the point guard and Luka Doncic being the number one guy scorer, I felt like he could control Luka, who was the exceptional talent. When Luka needed to have it, he would get him the ball. I knew Jalen’s basketball IQ was off the charts, and then there were games in the playoffs where Luka went down, and then Jalen knew he had to take over and he did. When Luka would come back, he’d get Luka involved and let Luka do what he does. I thought that was perfect for him. So that’s what I always told the scouts.
But the Scouts had a different view of Brunson’s talent, per Wright.
“I think the scouts initially would look at him as a career backup point guard, but I was telling them, ‘This guy can lead a team to a championship.’”
But even with how high Wright had his former guard as an NBA talent, he didn’t predict the level of greatness that Brunson would exhibit during the postseason and in the NBA Finals.
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“I never said he would be Michael Jordan-esque like he was in Game 5 or throughout those playoffs.”
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